Going fully Wireless IEMs. Too soon? Or are we there yet?

[clerkpalmer]

I'm curious, for classical music audiophiles what are your "go to" recordings for critically evaluating new TWS earphones or IEMS?

@erockg can recommend some metal ...

 

[dweaver]

I have the Bose Open and Shokz openfit 2 and the Bose are by far better for music. There is some weird distortion in the vocals I can't seem to eq out in the openfit 2.

I haven't had any issues with the vocals on my openfit 2 it's one of the things I really enjoy. But everyone's ears are different so I don't doubt your hearing something you don't like.

I haven't heard anything else other than the Soundcore Aerofit 2 which I bought for my wife. They have a brighter sound signature as compared to the openfit 2 which is on the warm side (not dark side).

When the Earfun open model becomes available in Canada i might give them a try.

Edit:

OK, finally sat down and A/B compared the Shokz Openfit 2 and Soundcore Aerofit 2.

Have to say I was surprised. The Aerofit 2 have a lot more detail than the Openfit. Going to swap with my wife for a while.

Setting that aside the Openfit 2 is a warmer sound with more bass so is easier to hear when in more noisy environments. The Aerofit 2 in comparison is leaner sounding with more brightness and air but offer almost as much bass. I would say they are the more audiophile oriented model.

Comfort wise I do give the edge to Shokz the rubber surface feels much better and the wire is thinner as well. I can actually lay on my side mostly with them where the aerofit has a thicker stem between the control end and the speaker. But both are definitely comfortable.

I think the aerofit 2 actually reduces outside noise a bit more than the Shokz.

 

[Not so fat head]

With Absolute volume ON, this how it should generally behave. When you change volume on host device (phone), it sends an instruction to change volume to the bt accessory (earbuds). Digital signal on the host goes into the bt codec compression with no prior digital attenuation, volume change is applied in the bt device after the compressed signal is uncompressed. On some bt devices it is still done via dsp, but on more advanced ones (like Go Pod) in analogue domain.

Yes, this I get "When you change volume on host device (phone), it sends an instruction to change volume to the bt accessory (earbuds)". The magic part is the continuous hand shaking between the host (phone) and the TWS. The host can inject volume up/down information into the data stream, while on the other hand, your TWS can send info back to your phone to stop/play/skip the music, by tapping or pushing a button on the device. Amazing all this tech can be had for under $100.

 

[dweaver]

I'm curious, for classical music audiophiles what are your "go to" recordings for critically evaluating new TWS earphones or IEMS?

I use Patricia Barber tunes when evaluating, particularly the Smash album, Hans Zimmer Interstellar album first couple of songs, Fleetwood Mac The Chain and pay attention for the bass drop in the middle of the song as well the cymbal work and vocals.

 

[BJRNRS]

I use Patricia Barber tunes when evaluating, particularly the Smash album, Hans Zimmer Interstellar album first couple of songs, Fleetwood Mac The Chain and pay attention for the bass drop in the middle of the song as well the cymbal work and vocals.

I have the KZ AZ 20 two pin Adapter in my Thieaudio Monarch. To be honest I really like the bass boosted sound signature of the KZ20 with the monarch and I really enjoy the freedom without a kable. It’s also a great headset for phone calls.

 

[howdy]

I haven't had any issues with the vocals on my openfit 2 it's one of the things I really enjoy. But everyone's ears are different so I don't doubt your hearing something you don't like.

I haven't heard anything else other than the Soundcore Aerofit 2 which I bought for my wife. They have a brighter sound signature as compared to the openfit 2 which is on the warm side (not dark side).

When the Earfun open model becomes available in Canada i might give them a try.

Edit:

OK, finally sat down and A/B compared the Shokz Openfit 2 and Soundcore Aerofit 2.

Have to say I was surprised. The Aerofit 2 have a lot more detail than the Openfit. Going to swap with my wife for a while.

Setting that aside the Openfit 2 is a warmer sound with more bass so is easier to hear when in more noisy environments. The Aerofit 2 in comparison is leaner sounding with more brightness and air but offer almost as much bass. I would say they are the more audiophile oriented model.

Comfort wise I do give the edge to Shokz the rubber surface feels much better and the wire is thinner as well. I can actually lay on my side mostly with them where the aerofit has a thicker stem between the control end and the speaker. But both are definitely comfortable.

I think the aerofit 2 actually reduces outside noise a bit more than the Shokz.

I'm gonna bring mine back and exchange them for another. I noticed that the left side has a lot of crackling distortion and the right is a lot less. These have to be a manufacturer defect.

 

[chriskin]

I saw Huawei's free clip headphones and the Bose ultra open ones and they seem interesting, is the sound decent at all?

What other similar alternatives are there that are worth looking into?

 

[theoolandesca]

I saw Huawei's free clip headphones and the Bose ultra open ones and they seem interesting, is the sound decent at all?

What other similar alternatives are there that are worth looking into?

I have openfit and bose open ultra. Bose still superior of all open styles i have tried including the nothing ear open. They can have good sub bass while maintaining clarity on 40-50% volume. All open styles start to lose sub bass on 60% up. Bose sub bass has the most depth by a big margin. One caveat, it will pinch your earlobes and cause pain after 3hr mark. I am looking to acquire Openrun pro 2 mini as they are far more comfortable and have decent sound upon testing, but i already know it will lose to Bose again on overall SQ.

 

[productred]

I'm curious, for classical music audiophiles what are your "go to" recordings for critically evaluating new TWS earphones or IEMS?

** edit **
I posted this after listening to Gardiner's 2012 recording of the Bach Motets and I realized that this is a great recording to test for detail retrieval. Such a great recording in Cadogan Hall, with the Monteverdi Choir in top form. Sadly, none of my TWS earphones capture the textual clarity of this recording properly. =( I brought the Pi8 and az100 along with a couple of iems to the coffeehouse today. Though I think these two TWS' sound great, looks like I need to chase down a rex5 (which are apparently sold out everywhere).

Any modern recording of the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony

 

[aaalexx]

I have the KZ AZ 20 two pin Adapter in my Thieaudio Monarch. To be honest I really like the bass boosted sound signature of the KZ20 with the monarch and I really enjoy the freedom without a kable. It’s also a great headset for phone calls.

I've read some bad reviews about these one, like battery or connectivity issues.
It could be a could solution to wirelessify my 2 pin iem instead of buying new ones

You don't had any problems ?

 

[NotSoFatDad]

I'm really confused by how EQ works in Noble Audio Rex 5

-With 10-band EQ enabled sound changes significantly. Like overall tone balance shifts to dark, even with slight change in any frequency, also lowers db all over range. It's not how EQ should work
-Curve EQ works like intended, but it's far too inaccurate — only three points is not enough to make nice curve

The problem is that Audiodo Personal EQ, while it's impressing and allowing independent EQ change of L/R ears, gives me TOO MUCH highs. Sibilants, distortion, too much volume for me. I'm trying to fix it with EQ, but 10-band messes with sound and Curve is not precise enough

Any suggestions?

 

[chriskin]

I have openfit and bose open ultra. Bose still superior of all open styles i have tried including the nothing ear open. They can have good sub bass while maintaining clarity on 40-50% volume. All open styles start to lose sub bass on 60% up. Bose sub bass has the most depth by a big margin. One caveat, it will pinch your earlobes and cause pain after 3hr mark. I am looking to acquire Openrun pro 2 mini as they are far more comfortable and have decent sound upon testing, but i already know it will lose to Bose again on overall SQ.

Thank you

 

[BJRNRS]

I've read some bad reviews about these one, like battery or connectivity issues.
It could be a could solution to wirelessify my 2 pin iem instead of buying new ones

You don't had any problems ?

Overall I’m really happy with it. But I had tu cut the shell peace around the 2 Pin connector because it doesn’t fit otherwise with the Thieaudio monarch. Connection is mostly great but if you listen in bed and have covered one side with your arms (sounds more weard than it is ) it lost connection.

 

[Tanalasta]

I have openfit and bose open ultra. Bose still superior of all open styles i have tried including the nothing ear open. They can have good sub bass while maintaining clarity on 40-50% volume. All open styles start to lose sub bass on 60% up. Bose sub bass has the most depth by a big margin. One caveat, it will pinch your earlobes and cause pain after 3hr mark. I am looking to acquire Openrun pro 2 mini as they are far more comfortable and have decent sound upon testing, but i already know it will lose to Bose again on overall SQ.

Have the latest OpenFit Pro 2 and the Bose Open Ultra.

The Bose is less comfortable and it takes practice to position outside the ear canal for best sound quality. A small shift and a lot of detail is lost. The clips are not as comfortable over time but YMMV. Call quality is acceptable.

The OpenFit Pro 2 is acceptable but can be difficult with glasses as one will usually pinch the other. Acceptable sound quality. Struggles in noisy environments and the max volume is much less than one can achieve with a earbud/IEM/headphone. Okay for iPhone gaming and casual listening / phone calls at work. I wouldn’t rate them for sound quality. Almost any earbud in a similar price-range would be superior. I can however wear it for a whole work day. And people recognise it as a headset of sorts … whereas the Bose Open comes across like a weird pair of earrings.

Both are a significant downgrades to a high-end TWS earbud. Heck I think the Momentum 4 had better sound quality and the B&O EX have much improved bass/detail/presentation/techs. Shame the microphone and ANC on the EX feels like several generations ago. Given how accomplished their H100 is, I wouldn’t recommend the B&O EX (and find it hard to justify the price increase of the B&O 11). I digress.

 

[clerkpalmer]

I'm really confused by how EQ works in Noble Audio Rex 5

-With 10-band EQ enabled sound changes significantly. Like overall tone balance shifts to dark, even with slight change in any frequency, also lowers db all over range. It's not how EQ should work
-Curve EQ works like intended, but it's far too inaccurate — only three points is not enough to make nice curve

The problem is that Audiodo Personal EQ, while it's impressing and allowing independent EQ change of L/R ears, gives me TOO MUCH highs. Sibilants, distortion, too much volume for me. I'm trying to fix it with EQ, but 10-band messes with sound and Curve is not precise enough

Any suggestions?

I have noticed the same with the Rex 5 10 band EQ. It's pretty much worthless because yes, it seems to lower DB significantly.